The Steward Observatory SSA Team
Dr. Eric C. PearceDr. Pearce has 29 years experience in Space Situational Awareness (SSA) with emphasis on electro-optical surveillance systems, techniques, and measurements for unique SSA applications. From 1989 to 2014, Dr. Pearce worked at the MIT Lincoln Laboratory, first as the site manager the the Experimental Test System (ETS) Field Site, and later as an Associate Group Leader in the Space Control Systems Group. He was the PI for the development of the DARPA 3.5 m Space Surveillance Telescope (SST) from concept development through First Light. Earlier in his career, is was the PI for the Moron Optical Space Surveillance (MOSS) system which was deployed to Spain, and supported the GEODSS system program office through the upgrade to CCD sensors in the early 1990s. He has extensive experience with the SSA mission area in general, ground based and space based systems, and the application of astronomical techniques and instrumentation to space surveillance applications to the mission. Dr. Pearce joined the University of Arizona Steward Observatory in 2016.
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Harrison KrantzHarrison is an astronomy graduate student at the University of Arizona Steward Observatory. He previously completed degrees in Engineering Physics and Computer Science at the Colorado School of Mines. In Colorado, he assisted with the construction and operations of a portable laser lab built inside a trailer. Additionally he assisted with the instrument integration for the Extreme Universe Space Observatory Super Pressure Balloon (EUSO-SPB) mission. Harrison has interests in instrument and systems engineering relevant to making unusual astronomical observations. Since starting at Steward Observatory in 2017 he designed and built the portable trailer-based enclosure for the Pomenis astrograph. He also worked on the integration and characterization of the Chimera photometer. He is using Chimera to observe the transient object and black hole candidate MAXI J1820+070.
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Adam BlockAdam studied Astronomy and Physics at the University of Arizona as an undergraduate. From 1996 to 2005 he developed the public outreach observing programs at Kitt Peak National Observatory (Visitor Center). Subsequently in 2007 he founded the now named UA Science Mount Lemmon SkyCenter for the department of astronomy (Steward Observatory) and managed it until 2016. His primary team contribution is maintaining, optimizing and automating observatories and related equipment for satellite observations and night sky brightness measurements.
Adam is internationally recognized as an expert astrophotographer. He has also discovered asteroids, extragalactic supernovae, and star streams around nearby galaxies. |